Management

Academy Sports + Outdoors is led by a highly accomplished senior management team with significant public market experience, a proven track record for driving operational efficiency, and a history of using customer data to improve our customer experience and drive our omnichannel strategy.

Steven (Steve) P. Lawrence
Chief Executive Officer
Steven (Steve) P. Lawrence

Steve P. Lawrence has served as Chief Executive Officer and on the Board of Directors since June 2023. Mr. Lawrence joined the company in February 2019 as Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Lawrence was President, Chief Executive Officer and served on the board of directors at francesca’s from October 2016 to January 2019. From May 2012 to September 2016, he served as Chief Merchandising Officer at Stage Stores. Mr. Lawrence also spent nearly 12 years working in various merchandising leadership roles at J.C. Penney after 10 years at Foley’s/May Co. Mr. Lawrence obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.

Samuel (Sam) J. Johnson
President
Samuel (Sam) J. Johnson

Sam J. Johnson has served as President since October 2023. Mr. Johnson joined the company in April 2017 as Executive Vice President, Retail Operations. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Johnson spent seven years with hhgregg, Inc., where he most recently served as Chief Retail Officer. While at hhgregg, Inc., he led functions including store operations, customer relations, commercial sales, real estate and visual merchandising. Prior to hhgregg, Inc., he spent more than 20 years in various leadership roles with Sears Holdings Corporation, including Vice President of Small Stores.

Earl Carlton (Carl) Ford IV
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Earl Carlton (Carl) Ford IV Photo

Earl Carlton (Carl) Ford IV has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since July 2023. Mr. Ford joined the company in January 2019, and served as the Senior Vice President, Finance, where he led the Financial Planning and Analysis function of the company from January 2019 to July 2023 and the Loss Prevention and Inventory Control teams from February 2020 to July 2023. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Ford served as the Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis at Belk, Inc. He also served as the Vice President of Internal Audit and held other leadership roles in accounting and treasury during his 15 years at Belk, Inc. Prior to joining Belk, Inc., Mr. Ford worked for Deloitte & Touche in their Audit practice. Mr. Ford holds a master's degree in accounting from the University of Alabama, a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi and is an active Certified Public Accountant.

Matthew (Matt) M. McCabe
Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer
Matthew (Matt) M. McCabe Photo

Matt McCabe has served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer since June 2023. Mr. McCabe joined the company in December 2016 as the Vice President, Divisional Merchandise Manager of Athletic and Licensed Apparel and served as the Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager of Footwear from September 2017 to June 2023. In this role, he was responsible for setting the merchandising objectives and business strategy for the Footwear division. Prior to joining the company, Mr. McCabe served as Vice President at Golfsmith International, where he led the apparel, footwear and soft consumables buying and private brand businesses. He has more than 25 years of experience in men's and women's apparel and footwear, and held various leadership roles at The Bon Ton Department Stores, Bachrach, Sears & Roebuck Co., and Mark Shale. Mr. McCabe holds a Bachelor of Science from Miami University.

William (Bill) S. Ennis
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer
William (Bill) S. Ennis

Bill S. Ennis has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer since January 2024. Mr. Ennis joined the company in April 2008 as Vice President of Human Resources and served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources from October 2010 to March 2016, and then as Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer from March 2016 to December 2023. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Ennis spent over 19 years with Stage Stores, May Department Stores and Federated Department Stores in multiple capacities including human resources, stores, buying group, store operations and finance areas. He currently sits on advisory boards for the Texas A&M Center for Retailing Studies and Texas Retailers Education Foundation, and he is also the governing body chair for the Houston HR Leadership Summit. Mr. Ennis graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas.

Chad Fox
Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer
Chad Fox Headshot Photo

Chad Fox has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer since January 2024. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Fox served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Dollar General, Corp. from April 2019 to January 2024. Prior to Dollar General, Mr. Fox served as Vice President of Retail Marketing from October 2018 to March 2019 at Walmart. He also served as Vice President of Advertising, in addition to other roles during his more than 12 years at Walmart. Mr. Fox holds a Master of Business Administration degree and Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech University and served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve for eight years.

Rene G. Casares
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Rene G. Casares

Rene G. Casares has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since March 2018. Mr. Casares joined the company in July 2013 as Senior Director, Associate General Counsel and served as Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary from March 2016 to March 2018. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Casares served as an Associate Attorney at the global law firm, Vinson & Elkins LLP, from 2008 to 2013, where he advised major and middle-market companies with mergers and acquisitions, private equity, corporate governance and capital markets. He also served in a similar capacity as an Associate Attorney at the global law firm, Latham & Watkins LLP, from 2006 to 2008. Additionally, Mr. Casares has a background in finance and consulting after serving as an Associate at Growth Capital Partners. L.P., a Strategy Consultant at KPMG Consulting, Inc., and an Analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. He currently sits on boards of directors of the Texas Retailers Association and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Retail Litigation Center. Mr. Casares holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School.

Manish Maini
Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Manish Maini

Manish Maini has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer since joining the company in June 2017. Prior to joining the Company, he served as the Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President at The Children’s Place U.S. where he led a 120-member team, and was responsible for the development and implementation of the company-wide IT strategy. Mr. Maini also spent nine years at Ann, Inc., formerly Ann Taylor Stores Inc., where he served in various IT leadership roles, including Vice President of Enterprise Systems. Mr. Maini holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Electronics and Communication from STJ Institute of Technology in Karnatak, India.